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Was glancing over at Aikido Journal (great site!) and saw a pic of Ueshiba from the 1938 "Budo" book and how this may have been a preliminary step away from Daito ryu to Aiki Budo to Aikido in developing kokyu (breath power).

Well, did a little research. First, the pic is on page 69 in Budo (Kodansha publ.) and shown as a preliminary kuzushi (balance taking) to a practice move - BACK STRETCH.

Image looking familiar, I did a quick book check and was nicely surprised by my find. Here is the same preliminary kuzushi by Daito ryu master Sagawa leading up to a throw. You can see the EXACT same posture for uke and nearly same posture for nage except not an exercise so a grip to hold onto your partner. So, I perhaps Ueshiba is showing his Daito ryu roots more than his developing Aikido.

But a little trick here is that Sagawa - in the frame - is probably just a bit early in the movement, closer to initial contact. He's about 10 degrees off the line. That would be in a safe "dead" zone to receive uke. Ueshiba is closer to 30 degrees off the line.

Now, a few things we do know. You can't let air out of something that doesn't have air in it. And you can't inflate something that has, at least to some degree, been partially deflated. You also can't inflate something if you have no desire to do so. Or if you've been taught to deflate it and discard it.

From everything I've seen of DR, they really do initially shock uke - like putting a nail in a tire. And from there, they pretty much destroy it. And there's always that last "fuck you, you're dead" chop in DR.

To me, Ueshiba does seem to be developing aikido here. Because, while he recieves uke, Ueshiba has enough breath for both of them. So, Ueshiba's saying, "Hey, even though you come at me with a fucked up attitude, not only am I'm not afraid that you're going to take my breath, but here - let me give you some good clean breath so you can be made whole again, and go about your business. And maybe with a little better attitude.

If we're looking for "roots" I'd say Ueshiba was showing more CMA than DR. CMA has Aiki. DR didn't have Aiki - even in it's name - until Ueshiba used it and Takeda coped it.

Ueshiba shows a clear progression to an art that gives life rather than takes it.

If you've got something else, please enlighten us. History's a funny thing. And there are countless stories of artists of all types who meet up, swirl things around a bit, learn from each other, and then each go on their own way. Each of them taking with them whatever works. And part of what works are the stories that are created around them.

The fact that Big Earl and Curly Joe were both around during a time when a new expression of an art form was being birthed; and whether Earl or Joe came up with the term - let's pick one - "the Louisiana slide" - really, in the end, is not that important. What is important is less about who did what - because all these guys have their own stories that appear to favor their own side - and more about what we have available to use today, and what we decide we want to employ.

Whether Tesla or Edison came up with various technologies is much less relevant than the fact that those technologies exist and can be utilized and further developed. And if you think people go back and forth with the developments of AC and DC electricity, and who did what - just look into the history of something like barbecue sauce http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbecue_sauce - a veritable clusterfuck of claims and stories and people and methods.

I added some life into this thread. I think my observations - which are also based on my own direct experiences - are valid. You zoomed in and popped a tire and ran off. How about breathing some life into it. If you've got more info on Aiki, I, for one, would be up for hearing it.

Chris, there are enough reputable sources that cite Ueshiba and possibly even Onisaburo as having a hand in the term Aiki.

You're talking about Aiki in use as a part of the name of the art. The term Aiki was in use in Daito-ryu prior to that - there are written notes by Horikawa Taiso and Sagawa Nenokichi from 1913 using that term, before Ueshiba ever met Takeda.

Quote:

Dan Richards wrote:

I added some life into this thread. I think my observations - which are also based on my own direct experiences - are valid. You zoomed in and popped a tire and ran off. How about breathing some life into it. If you've got more info on Aiki, I, for one, would be up for hearing it.

Nothing wrong with breathing life - but facts are facts. Ueshiba didn't invent or originate Aiki.

If you've got something else, please enlighten us. History's a funny thing. And there are countless stories of artists of all types who meet up, swirl things around a bit, learn from each other, and then each go on their own way. Each of them taking with them whatever works. And part of what works are the stories that are created around them.

The fact that Big Earl and Curly Joe were both around during a time when a new expression of an art form was being birthed; and whether Earl or Joe came up with the term - let's pick one - "the Louisiana slide" - really, in the end, is not that important. What is important is less about who did what - because all these guys have their own stories that appear to favor their own side - and more about what we have available to use today, and what we decide we want to employ.

Whether Tesla or Edison came up with various technologies is much less relevant than the fact that those technologies exist and can be utilized and further developed. And if you think people go back and forth with the developments of AC and DC electricity, and who did what - just look into the history of something like barbecue sauce http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbecue_sauce - a veritable clusterfuck of claims and stories and people and methods.

I added some life into this thread. I think my observations - which are also based on my own direct experiences - are valid. You zoomed in and popped a tire and ran off. How about breathing some life into it. If you've got more info on Aiki, I, for one, would be up for hearing it.

Dan:

You might want to do a little research on Chris Li before you chew down on too much of your feet...... Start off with the blogs that Chris Li has written. Oh, by the way, Chris is a professional translator and has done so for the current Doshu. His unique position as a very experienced Aikidoka, along with his phenomenal translating skills place him in a position better than most when it comes to subjects related directly to Aikido and it's origins. Then again, if you would like a shot at translating the original Japanese that were cited in your references, with your own versions, then you might gain a tiny bit more credibility in what you think that you are talking about.

What I was pointing out was that uke, in both pictures, look quite different. Sagawa appears to be deflating his uke. Ueshiba appears to be inflating uke. Both using fire, so to speak. One to burn the house down. The other to start a campfire and roast marshmellows.

Looks to me like Sagawa is using aiki-sage to capture and control his uke's centers of mass and balance, and Ueshiba is using aiki-age to do same. Photos can't provide much information, but it's the impression I got, FWIW. Aiki-sage does involve a certain degree of compression, but "inflation" and "deflation" or "pressurization" and "depressurization" are not terms applicable to aiki, at least not in the sense that they have been used in this thread.